


Locked In

by AnnieB



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-06
Updated: 2018-03-06
Packaged: 2019-03-27 17:07:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13885296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnnieB/pseuds/AnnieB
Summary: Written for Sentinelbingo for the square "locked in".





	Locked In

Jim Ellison tried the heavy door of the cellar he and his partner, Blair Sandburg were locked behind for the umpteenth time.

“It’s not going to magically open just because you keep trying,” Blair said from behind him. There was a trace of amusement in his voice and when Jim turned to look down at him there was a matching trace of humor in his eyes as well. 

“Well, you never know,” Jim replied lightly. “My dad was all for the try try try again thing. Guess it sunk in more than Dad thought it had.” He sat down next to Blair and looked him over with a critical eye accompanied by his Sentinel senses. Blair’s face was pale and lightly sheened with perspiration and yet he was shivering slightly.

Blair rolled his eyes when Jim reached out to touch his forehead with the back of his hand and cracked a small grin. “My mom always used to kiss my forehead to check if I had a fever,” he said.

“Hey, these lips aren’t getting anywhere near any portion of your body, Sandburg. You’re lacking a few of the things I look for in a kissing partner.”

Blair laughed then grabbed at his ribs and groaned. “Only hurts when I laugh, I swear,” he said to Jim. “Honest.”

“Yeah, I bet,” Jim replied wryly. “They got you pretty good, Chief.” He lifted Blair’s sweater and tshirt and grimaced at the knife wound still bleeding sluggishly despite the makeshift bandage Jim had made from his own shirt and wrapped around it. He gave Blair a reassuring smile despite his own worry. “It’s a good thing it’s still bleeding a bit,” he said lightly. “God knows how dirty the knife that goon got you with was. At least the bleeding is getting rid of any germs.”

Blair nodded his agreement and closed his eyes. “I’m just going to sleep for a bit,” he said. “You know me, Jim. Never waste an opportunity for a nap.”

“Yeah, well, you need all the beauty sleep you can get.” Jim sat back against the wall and pulled Blair closer in against his side in an effort to make him more comfortable. “Now, me on the other hand...”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I won’t bother reminding you that my dates just in the past week outnumber yours in the past year,” Blair retorted, without opening his eyes.

“Sure thing, Chief, we’ll tally them up when we get out of here,” Jim said. “Now get some sleep, Romeo, while you’ve got the downtime to do it. Simon will send the troops to bust us out as soon as we don’t check back in on time.”

Blair sighed and let his head drop down to rest on Jim’s chest. “Snugglebunny,” Jim heard him murmur just before he fell asleep.

“Smartass,” Jim replied. He laid his own head back against the wall and let his mind wander back over how they’d ended up in this predicament in the first place.

~oOo~

“Joey’s not here. He doesn’t live here no more!” The mother of their sought after perp stood with her arms folded over her ample bosom and glared at Jim.

“Then you won’t mind me taking a look around,” Jim said firmly.

“You got no right to come into my house,” the woman shot back.

“Well, technically, right now that’s not true,” Blair said helpfully, pasting what Jim called the Sandburg Special Smile on his face. Jim had never seen it fail on any woman so far.

“You’re not coming in either, hippie.”

Okay. Jim revised his previous thought. He’d seen it fail once now. He pulled the warrant out of his coat pocket and held it in front of Mrs. Malone’s face. “This gives me the right,” he said. He grinned at Blair. “Me and the hippie both.”

Cursing under her breath, the woman stood aside and let them into the house.

“Look, if Joey’s not here you have nothing to worry about,” Blair said cheerfully, giving the Special another try.

Jim was about to tell him not to bother when a faint noise upstairs caught his attention. He pulled his gun out and headed for the stairs. “Keep Mrs. Malone company, Chief.”

“No problem,” Blair called after him.

Jim bounded up the stairs two at a time. The stairs ended on a small landing with two doors leading off it. Jim cocked his head and ranged his hearing out. There was a thud from behind the door on the left and Jim cautiously pushed the door open, leading the way in with his weapon. Inside he swept the room visually until a faint mewl had him looking down. A ginger cat rubbed against his leg but aside from the animal Jim could tell there was no one else in the room. He backed out of the room and was about to enter the second door when he heard Blair yell his name. Spinning on his heel, Jim took the steps three at a time and came to a sudden stop at the bottom.

Blair was curled on the floor, his arms wrapped around his middle while blood seeped into a puddle beneath. There was no sign of Mrs. Malone and Jim hurried forward and knelt down next to Blair. “What happened?” he asked as he urgently pulled Blair’s shirt up to look at the wound.

Jim!” Blair managed to grunt out in warning.

Jim turned and caught a flash of something metallic heading for his head. He tried to duck out of the way but hindered by Blair’s body beside him, the object connected with the side of his forehead and the world went suddenly black.

He’d come to in this room, with Blair on the floor next to him. Jim had managed to fight off his own dizziness and make a pressure bandage out of his shirt for what turned out to be a knife wound in Blair’s abdomen. He’d tried numerous times to break down the door with no success and that left them where they now were, hoping Simon Banks, his captain would send backup in time before Blair bled to death or the Malones came back to finish the job. He’d already checked his and Blair’s pockets for their phones and his gun but they’d disappeared along with the perps.

“I can hear you thinking,” Blair whispered.

Jim looked down at him. Blair was paler than before and his eyes were having trouble staying open. “You’re supposed to be resting,” Jim chided him.

“I was but you woke me up,” Blair replied. “Well, I woke me up because I thought of something I read in a book once when I was a kid and then your thinking kept me awake.”

“You’re not really making much sense,” Jim said, “not that that’s unusual.” He grinned down at Blair. “Okay, what were you thinking that woke you up?”

“You’re just humoring me,” Blair replied, sounding miffed.

“I’m not. I’m interested. Really,” Jim said.

“Well, in this book this kid was locked in a room by his evil stepmother and then he remembered there was a key in the door on the outside and he got a piece of paper and slid it under the door and poked they key out with something and it fell on the paper and he pulled it into the room and got out.” Blair finished with a rush and took a pained gasp for air.

“Interesting but the chances of old Mother Malone being dumb enough to leave they key in the lock is pretty remote,” Jim replied.

“She’s old though. Quick with a blade but old,” Blair said.

“Okay, I’ll take a look,” Jim replied. 

He carefully settled Blair back against the wall and stood up then made his way across to the door. There was a keyhole all right and Jim bent down to put his eye to it. It was too dark to see properly until he dialed up his sight and then he was able to see the end of a key still sitting in the keyhole. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he murmured. He looked around the room for something to use to catch the key and spotted a newspaper discarded on the floor. Tearing off a sheet he carefully slid the page under the door then used a wire coathanger unwound to form something he could poke the key out with. Holding his breath as he heard the key land on the paper, he carefully pulled the paper back into the room. Breathing a sigh of relief at his success, he put the key in the lock and cheered mentally as the door unlocked. “You keep quoting those books of yours, Chief,” he said as he hurried across to lift Blair to his feet.

~oOo~

“They picked up Joseph Malone and his mother trying to cross the border into Canada,”Jim said as he sat on the edge of Blair’s hospital bed and gave his partner a quick Sentinel once-over.

“That’s good,” Blair replied. 

“You don’t sound very happy about it,” Jim observed.

“Oh, I am. I’m just a little embarrassed about getting taken down by a 70 year old grey haired lady,” Blair replied. “Can you imagine when I have to give evidence in court and they see her, probably all bent over and walking with a cane to get the sympathy vote? I’ll never live it down with the MC guys.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it, Chief,” Jim said as he ruffled Blair’s hair. “I’ve already told them it was your bright idea that got us out of there. They think you’re kind of cool for saving both our asses.”

“They do?” Blair gave Jim a grateful smile. “Thanks, man.”

“Anytime, buddy. Feel better now?”

“Yep, definitely, man, besides I just thought of something.”

“What’s that?” Jim asked.

“That little old lady got you too. That was her that clocked you with that golf club. I mean, if a big tough Sentinel Ranger got his head hammered by a little grey haired lady, what chance did this hippie have?”

“Funny, Sandburg, funny. Laugh it up, Shecky. You know I was going to break you out of here today but maybe I’ll let you stay a little longer...”

“Aw, come on, man, I was joking. Really. Get me out of here please, Jim. You know I hate being in hospital.” Blair gave Jim the Sandburg Special.

“You think that’s gonna work on me when it didn’t work on old Mother Malone?” Jim said with a grin. “Okay. Come on, let’s get you out of here. Simon won’t let me out on the street on my own, Says I obviously need Sandburg to keep me in one piece.”

“See, I knew Simon would grow to love me...”

“Well, love might be too strong a word...”

The End


End file.
